Stanford University School of Medicine facts for kids
 |
|
| Type | Private medical school |
|---|---|
| Established | 1908 |
|
Parent institution
|
Stanford University |
| Dean | Lloyd B. Minor |
|
Academic staff
|
801 |
| Students | 3,498 |
| Postgraduates | 1,158 |
| Location |
,
,
United States
37°26′04″N 122°10′34″W / 37.43444°N 122.17611°W |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Vice Dean | Linda M. Boxer |
The Stanford University School of Medicine is a famous medical school that is part of Stanford University. It is located in Stanford, California, in the United States. This school helps train future doctors and medical researchers.
The school's history goes back to 1858. That's when the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific was started in San Francisco. Later, this medical school was called Cooper Medical College. Stanford University took it over in 1908. In 1959, the medical school moved to the main Stanford campus near Palo Alto, California.
The School of Medicine works closely with Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Together, they form Stanford Medicine. Stanford Health Care is known as one of the best hospitals in California.
Contents
A Look Back: Stanford Medicine's Story
In 1855, a doctor named Elias Samuel Cooper moved to San Francisco. He worked with the University of the Pacific to open the first medical school on the West Coast. This happened in 1858. Sadly, Cooper passed away in 1862, and the medical school struggled without him.
In 1870, Cooper's nephew, Levi Cooper Lane, helped restart the medical department. In 1882, Lane gave money to build a new school building. He made the department a separate school called Cooper Medical College. Lane also built a hospital and a nursing school. He even planned for a medical library called Lane Medical Library.
In 1908, Cooper Medical College was given to Stanford University as a gift. It became Stanford's medical school. At first, it was called the Stanford Medical Department. Later, it became the Stanford University School of Medicine. In the 1950s, Stanford decided to move the school to its main campus. The move was finished in 1959.
In the 1980s, the Medical Center grew a lot. A new hospital opened in 1989 with many new operating rooms. It also had modern intensive care units. The Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine opened in 1989. This center focuses on how diseases start at the tiny molecular and genetic level. The Lucile Packard Children's Hospital was completed in 1991. This added even more to Stanford Medicine.
In the early 2000s, the School of Medicine built many new facilities. This helped them offer more teaching and patient care. The Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge opened in 2010. It is a main building for the School of Medicine. It also offers a new way of learning medicine. It combines research with hands-on medical training.
The Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building also opened in 2010. It is the largest stem cell research center in North America. Stem cells are special cells that can turn into many different types of cells. This building is the first of several planned Stanford Institutes of Medicine.
Learning and Students at Stanford Medicine
The School of Medicine uses a special teaching method called the "flipped classroom." This means students learn new information at home. Then, they use class time to work on problems and discuss what they learned. This is different from traditional schools where lectures happen in class.
Stanford also trains physician assistants (PAs). PAs are healthcare professionals who work with doctors. Stanford University started a PA program in 1971. Today, the school offers a Master of Science in PA Studies program. This program trains PAs to work in any area of medicine. They also learn to be leaders in community health and research.
PA students at Stanford take some classes with MD (doctor) students. This helps them learn to work together. The program lasts 30 months. Only 27 students are accepted each year. It is a very selective program.
Top Rankings and Admissions
The Stanford School of Medicine is highly ranked. In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked it fourth in the nation for medical research. Getting into the MD program at Stanford is very competitive. In 2019, almost 7,000 people applied. Only 90 students were accepted for the new class.
Stanford uses a special interview system called the multiple mini-interview. This system helps them evaluate candidates. It was first developed in Canada.
Stanford also has a Biosciences PhD Program. This program was ranked first in 2019 for biological sciences. In specific areas, Stanford is ranked very high. For example, it is #1 in genetics and neuroscience. It is also #1 in cell biology.
Amazing Faculty at Stanford Medicine
The School of Medicine has many talented teachers and researchers. There are 1,948 full-time faculty members. Over the past 60 years, eight of them have won Nobel Prizes.
In 2019, the faculty included:
- 37 members of the National Academy of Sciences
- 49 members of the National Academy of Medicine
- 4 MacArthur Foundation “geniuses” (people who receive special awards for their creativity)
- 15 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators (top researchers)
- 26 National Institutes of Health Innovator and Young Innovator Awards
Famous People Who Studied at Stanford Medicine
Many successful people have graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine. Here are a few examples:
- Lori Alvord – The first board-certified female Diné surgeon.
- Cheri Blauwet – A professional cyclist and winner of the Boston Marathon.
- Amy Chow – An Olympic gold medalist.
- Bill Frist – A heart surgeon who became a United States Senator.
- Eric Heiden – An Olympic gold medalist and a physician.
- Scott Parazynski – A NASA Astronaut who flew on 5 Space Shuttle missions.
- Mary Elizabeth Bennett Ritter – One of the first women to earn an MD in California.
- Belding Scribner – The inventor of the Scribner Shunt, a device used in dialysis.
- Ray Lyman Wilbur – A former President of Stanford University and personal doctor to President Harding.
Notable Teachers and Researchers at Stanford Medicine
Stanford Medicine has been home to many important teachers and researchers. Here are some of them:
- John R. Adler – Inventor of the Cyberknife, a special machine for treating cancer.
- Paul Berg – Won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering how to combine DNA from different sources.
- Stanley Norman Cohen – Achieved the first transfer of genes between cells.
- Karl Deisseroth – A pioneer in optogenetics, a method using light to control brain cells.
- William C. Dement – A pioneer in sleep research.
- Andrew Fire – Won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- Thomas J. Fogarty – Inventor of the Fogarty balloon catheter, a surgical tool.
- Brian Kobilka – Won the 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Arthur Kornberg – Won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how DNA is made.
- Roger Kornberg – Won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Michael Levitt – Won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Joshua Lederberg – Won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and started Stanford's genetics department.
- Norman Shumway – A pioneer in heart transplants, he performed the first heart transplant in the United States.
- Robert Sapolsky – A famous neuroscientist known for his studies on stress.
- Thomas C. Südhof – Won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- Edward Tatum – Won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
See also
In Spanish: Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad Stanford para niños
